The Houston Texans signed fourth-round running back Dameon Pierce to a four-year contract worth $4,500,432.
The deal gummed up the works for other NFL teams signing their fourth-round picks as the Texans included a $25,000 workout bonus in 2023.
General manager Nick Caserio told “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] June 16 that the notion the Texans’ contract for Pierce is why other teams are having trouble signing their fourth-round selections is “comical.”
“We’re talking about a $208 million cap and in the grand scheme of things — and I would say if you look at over the last few years, the first round is the first round,” said Caserio. “Everyone knows the way that round is structured, and I would say in the second round you’ve seen some progress and some things involved relative to how it’s structured, relative to the guarantee, relative to some of the auxiliary items that are available. Third round is always kind of been that.”
What the Texans did with the Pierce contract is get ahead of the trend. Caserio predicts the contracts for the rest of the draft will start to look more like third-round contracts.
Said Caserio: “Honestly more than anything I think where the league is headed ultimately with a lot of these contracts is going to be similar maybe to the way second and third rounds are. So, you know, every player, every negotiation is going to be different. So, again, within the grand scheme of things, if it’s something you feel is not prohibited in any way, shape, or form, and think it’s the right thing. And some of this is in anticipation of what you think is going to happen eventually.”
Nevertheless the uproar over the Texans’ impact on other teams having trouble signing their fourth-round selections is fascinating to Caserio.
“The fact that there’s been commentary about this has been kind of laughable, but it is what it is,” Caserio said. “Everybody’s got a philosophy. So, if they want to be pissed off and blame somebody, I guess they can blame me for screwing the whole league up.”
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